I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to speak with
Jennifer Manuel in May about her book, The Heaviness of Things
That Float. I have so much to say about this novel and our
conversation! But let me start with this: the novel is
exceptionally well written. Jennifer is a master craftswoman who
deserves to be widely read. The BC Book Prize folks agree--Jennifer
won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize in 2017.

The themes of The Heaviness of Things That Float are
timely--we have been engaged in a nationwide conversation about
cultural appropriation, responsibility, and ethics. The week before
we recorded this episode, Canadians erupted to call out the
mis-guided 'cultural appropriation prize' literary fiasco. In
The Heaviness of Things That Float, Jennifer uses fiction
to bring to life the very real issues Canadians must grapple with,
including racism, colonialism, intergenerational trauma, privilege,
and the need to have honest conversations about truth and
reconciliation. In addition to talking about the novel, we ask: How
do we transform conversation into action? And Ally-ship into
reparation?

Jennifer Manuel is the author of The Heaviness of Things
That Float (Douglas & McIntyre), winner of the 2017 Ethel
Wilson Fiction Prize. She has also received acclaim for her short
fiction, being a Western Magazine Finalist and recipient of the
Storytellers Award at the Surrey International Writers Conference.
A long-time activist in Indigenous issues, Manuel currently runs
the TRC Reading Challenge, an effort to get people to read the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report.

Show Notes:

2:00--Synopsis of The Heaviness of Things That Float.

3:00--How Jennifer feels about her success and winning a BC Book
Prize and reaching 27 weeks on the BC Best Seller list -
special thanks to independent booksellers for championing her book
early on.

6:00--The main character, Bernadette, and who she is and the
truths she fails to perceive and then how she comes to understand
them.

10:44: We talk about the fine line between caring for friends
and being patronizing.

11:32: What does it mean to belong? To feel accepted and
loved?

13:20: Can you truly belong to a community if your set of
available choices is different from your neighbours?